Updated February 21, 2022. Oahu has announced that it will now join Maui in ending its program requiring vaccination or testing for access to dining, bars, and gyms. Starting March 6, The Safe Access Oahu program, which went into effect last fall with rising Covid cases, will now be dropped. It will be up to individual businesses whether or not they would like to continue asking for proof of vaccination or testing.
Oahu’s mayor said that Hawaii’s controversial last-man-standing indoor mask mandate is not within his purview. He said that the Department of Health “felt the indoor mask mandate would be the very last restriction going.” And so it will be.
Until March 6, the Safe Access Oahu program continues to require that all customers show proof of primary vaccination or a negative Covid test within 48 hours of entering an establishment, although children under 12 years of age are exempt.
Effective today, no further Covid restrictions on Maui.
Maui bars, restaurants, and gyms on Maui starting today no longer require that customers provide proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test for indoor service.
“With the rapid decline of new COVID-19 cases and related hospitalizations, we can safely eliminate the proof-of-vaccination requirement for bars, restaurants, and gyms… We advise continuing to wear face masks while indoors in public spaces and to maintain physical distancing when in groups of people from outside of your household.”
He said, however, that “it will be up to the governor to lift the indoor mask mandate.”
Maui also had a very brief requirement for boosters for bars, restaurants, and gyms. That rule lasted less than two weeks and ended earlier this month.
Awaiting final word from Governor Ige.
We don’t think it will be long until we hear again from Governor Ige regarding Safe Travels and Hawaii’s indoor mask mandate. There is considerable pressure on him to announce the lifting of both of these.
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Will there be another race
To come along and take over for us?
Maybe martians could do
Better than we’ve done
We’ll make great pets! [x8]
[Guitar solo]
My friend says we’re like the dinosaurs
Only we are doing ourselves in
Much faster than they
Ever did
We’ll make great pets! [x8]
As an ICU nurse in the COVID unit, vaccines and masks do work. 99% of ICU patients are unvaccinated and I have never gotten covid from work due to excellent masking/ppe standards. Thank you very much!
Hello Beat of Hawaii,
What is the latest Covid Update and stance from the Big Island I. Regards to Covid, flying Into KOA, and indoor requirements. Thanks Marc
Hi Marc.
The Big Island and Kauai never signed on to these particular rules. So it would just be up to an establishment if they want to have their own restrictions, although it is doubtful that many are doing that. Others may comment with more information.
Aloha.
Many people I know feel conned by the first two vax shots so many were not going to get the booster. That would have made a dent in demand. I’d say at least 3 of 4 said they weren’t getting the booster.
Liam,
Please tell your friends that there are almost no vaccinations that totally prevent you from getting that illness. Vaccinations keep the disease from killing you or making you super ill. Covid vaccines do just that. The booster is just like any other vaccine booster, it improves on the immunities the prior vaccinations gave you. We could have been done with most of the restrictions months ago if more people would have gotten vaccinated quicker.
Please do not spread the hate to continue the division among the vaccinated and unvaccinated. Even Walensky retracted her statement about this being the pandemic of the unvaccinated.
Vaccinations do prevent you from catching things. This is a therapy which is why they had to change the definition of vaccination to fit the narrative. Why would they do that? We will see in a few years as more data comes out and people start looking at things logically. It already is coming out see John Hopkins study on lockdowns.
COVID-19 “vaccines” do not impart immunity or inhibit transmissibility of the disease. In other words, they are not designed to keep you from getting sick with SARS-CoV-2; they only are supposed to lessen your infection symptoms if or when you get infected …
It just seems like no one in charge knows what they are doing and we are are being subjected to their whiplash emotional whims. A new variant will happen or a really bad flu strain next time and here we go again. Love Hawaii and everything it has to offer, but they aren’t making it easy to plan.
Victorino goes from demanding a third shot to nothing at all in 3 weeks. Too much blowback from Maui business owners when only 30% of the island had three shots?. And now he follows the latest Science(TM) discovered by pollsters.
Some entrepreneurial types on Maui should open businesses that cater exclusively to super-vaxxed/tested/masked enthusiasts?. Call it “Hale Pfizer” or “Tiki Moderna.” Based on some of these comments, there is demand for such places.
I am All In for a chain of Businesses for the Unafraid called Freedom from Fear or FFF …Fear of a “virus” with a 99.9% survivability rate and higher if therapeutics/preventions were offered, available and encouraged instead of go home and die and what for a “miracle injection”…Hawaii are you listening?
Currently 0.27% (almost 1 million human beings) of the US population has died of Covid so your statement is incorrect!
Of covid or with covid or falsely reported, that is the question we are just now beginning to gt an answer to.
By 1/10 of 1%? Let’s not split hairs … even at 99% (without the decimals), I’d say the chances of survival are pretty good!
It’s about time. People need to wake up. This pandemic is A huge fallacy. Masks do little to nothing to help and we’ve already seen that the vaccine is a big farce.
Aloha,
It’s about time that they stop the proof of vaccination and testing for non vaccinated for restaurants.
If they truly want to slow down COVID. Everyone needs to be required to test, vaccinated and non vaccinated. If you say you wear a mask to protect others then protect them and get tested no matter what your vaccination status.
Please, educate yourself.
Educate about what exactly? The CDC announced last fall that the 6 foot social distancing had NO basis for it, so it was just a number they came up with. To deny the concept of “natural immunity” after having had the Vid was in complete denial of established science, and if masking and distancing was for two weeks to smooth the curve then this nonsense would have been over 2 years ago. And yes, I do actually have a degree in Microbiology and none of what has gone on surprised me one bit.
or You can choose to mask/triple vax/boost forever, and leave the rest of us to live Free and Live in Peace and take all the Risk one does on a Daily Basis by living as a Free Human Being in this World…everything you do in life has risk/benefit so please decide what is Best for You not Me…Hawaii should do the same
Well this is very disappointing. We are going to be on island in 2 weeks and was glad they required proof of vaccination at restaurants. Looks like more hiking will be in store to avoid as many people as possible while enjoying and respecting the land and people of Hawaii
The vaccine played no part in this case. You still can get covid, spread covid and die with the vaccines. Fauci and CDC.GOV have released all recent results if anyone is interested in the factual data currently at CDC.GOV So we can stop villanizing people on medical choice. I pushed the vaccines and now that true data is out…I have egg on my face !!
Don’t beat yourself up, Debi. You took the Pfizer blue pill. Not that blue pill; the other one.
Not your fault really, the propaganda was very intense..$85 Billion in profit does not come without some effort…and Ad dollar$ are never going to be turned away with Truth- always follow the money $$$$$
Debi, At least you have “seen the light” … most still believe the rhetoric and won’t look at the data.
Good. More space at restaurants without you there and truly sad that you still believe that masking and vaccines work to smooth the curve when reality has smacked everyone that believes that by the fact that they don’t.
Maybe the next variant 90% of the human race will follow the science and not the Politics.
“The people will believe what the media tells them they believe”
– George Orwell
“It’s Easier to Fool People than Convince them They have been Fooled
~Mark Twain
When I first read your comment, I thought you were referring to the next variant of the human race, more interesting to contemplate than the next variant of COVID.
The phrase “follow the science” has lost all objective meaning. Does the science wander around town? Do we follow it on Twitter?
“It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.” (Thomas Sowell)
Sweden
California Vs. Florida- 0 % statistical difference- Masking/Lockdowns/School Closures etc..made absolutely No Difference
Let’s see Florida deaths from Covid 321 per 100,000 and California 214 per 100,000. Looks like a difference to me! Stop the misinformation please!
Did you make adjustments for age? More seniors live in Florida than California and 80% who die from Covid are the elderly.
75% of Covid deaths are 65+ years old. 21% of Florida is 65+, whereas less than 15% of California is 65+. Death rate per positive test is much closer: FL 1.1% v. CA 1.0% (10% lower). HI’s is only 0.6%. Everyone will draw their own conclusions. Mine is that people live “outside” here and have highly ventilated homes (instead of AC) 365 days a year when they are inside. Being closed to travel 6 months (1 year for Kauai) followed by “Safe travels” also a factor.